Outer Order, Inner Calm (Gretchen Rubin)

I'm a big Gretchen Rubin fan. I've read The Happiness Project, The Four Tendencies and Better Than Before  (which I try to re-read about every six months). Since I enjoyed all of those so much, I pre-ordered this and was happy to get it as soon as it came out. I think it's definitely one to re-visit annually.

This one is different than the others. It's a quick read with a really narrow focus: lots of tips for organizing. One thing I love about Gretchen Rubin is that she doesn't get stuck on one way to do things. I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and didn't love it because she was too prescriptive with one right way to de-clutter and organize. Gretchen Rubin recognizes that there are a lot of good ways to accomplish the same thing. I especially connected with the section on the importance of the words we use (instead of apologizing for being late, thank people for waiting....instead of mindlessly wandering, explore and so on). She had some good tips. I read it while we were driving on a family trip and found myself anxiously looking forward to getting home to implement some of the strategies.



Goodreads says:

Bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin illuminates one of her key realizations about happiness: For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. In a new book packed with more than one hundred concrete ideas, she helps us create the order and organization that can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. 

In the context of a happy life, a messy desk or crowded coat closet is a trivial problem–yet Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of the stuff of life makes us feel more in control of our lives generally. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, we free our mind (and our shelves) for what we truly value. 

In this trim book filled with insights, strategies, and sometimes surprising tips, Gretchen tackles the key challenges of creating outer order, by explaining how to “Make Choices,” “Create Order,” “Know Yourself–and Others,” “Cultivate Helpful Habits,” and, of course, “Add Beauty.” 

When we get our possessions under control, we feel both calmer and more energetic. With a sense of humor, and also a clear sense of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment–one that helps us to create the lives we yearn for.

Coyote's New Suit (Thomas King)

This story is long, but really fun. Kids with the ability to listen to a long story will love it. There's lots of silliness (animals taking off their "suits") and trickery on the part of Raven. Coyote, who is often in the family of sly foxes, isn't sly. He's not that bright. He is greedy and starts taking off with all the animals suits.


Goodreads summary:

Coyote’s mighty pleased with his soft, brown suit — until Raven slyly hints it’s not the finest in the forest. Now, Coyote is obsessed: Bear’s suit is much more impressive. Porcupine — sporty! Raccoon is chic, while Skunk’s suit is perfectly elegant. Perhaps he could just borrow the suits? The missing suits send the forest into an uproar. How can naughty Coyote make amends? 

Those Shoes (Maribeth Boelts)

Great story. Have you ever just wanted something because you felt like life would just be better? You'd just be a little cooler? We could all relate. Often, everyone just wants to fit in. In our school kids wear uniforms and they're well aware that one of the benefits of uniforms is that we don't seem to have those issues as much - but they still got the concept. We all had empathy for Jeremy when he just wanted to have the same shoes as everyone else. We felt excited for him when he found some in the second hand store and we understood the crazy idea of squishing your feet into the shoes he finally found even though they were too small. When he gives the shoes away, our hearts sang. There is a great lesson in this story about learning the difference between wants and needs and what really matters when it comes to fitting in.



Goodreads summary:
But all the kids are wearing them! Any child who has ever craved something out of reach will relate to this warm, refreshingly realistic story.

"I have dreams about those shoes. Black high-tops. Two white stripes."

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. But Jeremy’s grandma tells him they don’t have room for "want," just "need," and what Jeremy needs are new boots for winter. When Jeremy’s shoes fall apart at school, and the guidance counselor gives him a hand-me-down pair, the boy is more determined than ever to have those shoes, even a thrift-shop pair that are much too small. But sore feet aren’t much fun, and Jeremy comes to realize that the things he has — warm boots, a loving grandma, and the chance to help a friend — are worth more than the things he wants.